Chelsea beat Barcelona 2-1 to win Rakuten Cup in Japan

Chelsea ended their pre-season tour of Japan in style with a win over Barcelona in Saitama on Tuesday.

It was the perfect way to bring their trip to Asia to a close after being beaten by Kawasaki Frontale last week and their performance will give Frank Lampard optimism as the new season approaches.

 

The Premier League side always looked comfortable against a Barcelona team without Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi and goals from Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley ensured they were victorious.

 

Antoine Griezmann, making his first start in a Barcelona shirt, looked lively in his 45-minute appearance.

 

He linked up well with Ousmane Dembele but will undoubtedly be looking forward to forming a devastating trio with Messi and Suarez when the competitive football begins.

 

The tempo to the game was far from that of a meaningless pre-season friendly early on.

 

Barca passed the ball at a frantic pace while Lampard’s side pressed their defence so high up the pitch that Marc-Andre ter Stegen barely had an option to pass it to.

 

Abraham was given the chance to prove his credentials for the regular No 9 shirt and looked sharp for 60 minutes.

 

The 21-year-old is looking to take up a more prominent role after spending last season at Aston Villa and he first missed a glorious chance from six yards out but responded by giving his team the lead.

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Chelsea beat Barcelona 2-1 to win Rakuten Cup in Japan

Chelsea ended their pre-season tour of Japan in style with a win over Barcelona in Saitama on Tuesday.

It was the perfect way to bring their trip to Asia to a close after being beaten by Kawasaki Frontale last week and their performance will give Frank Lampard optimism as the new season approaches.

 

The Premier League side always looked comfortable against a Barcelona team without Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi and goals from Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley ensured they were victorious.

 

Antoine Griezmann, making his first start in a Barcelona shirt, looked lively in his 45-minute appearance.

 

He linked up well with Ousmane Dembele but will undoubtedly be looking forward to forming a devastating trio with Messi and Suarez when the competitive football begins.

 

The tempo to the game was far from that of a meaningless pre-season friendly early on.

 

Barca passed the ball at a frantic pace while Lampard’s side pressed their defence so high up the pitch that Marc-Andre ter Stegen barely had an option to pass it to.

 

Abraham was given the chance to prove his credentials for the regular No 9 shirt and looked sharp for 60 minutes.

 

The 21-year-old is looking to take up a more prominent role after spending last season at Aston Villa and he first missed a glorious chance from six yards out but responded by giving his team the lead.

If you use the quotes from this content, you legally agree to give www.brila.net the News credit as the source and a backlink to our story. Copyright 2024 Brila Media.